PC #37 – People along The Way…

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I’ve been thinking of some of the people I met along The Way.

People I walked with, on and off, for weeks.

And people I met only once.

And it occurred to me that each person I met was a Teacher. Each, in their own way, taught me something. Even the rude people. And the arrogant people.

They were a mirror – a reflection of a part of my self. If I saw rudeness or uncaring or hubris in them, it was only because I recognised those traits within my self.

Each person I met had been put in my way to teach me a lesson.

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21 thoughts on “PC #37 – People along The Way…”

  2. Talk about people you know or meet – and the blog the other day about intuition!! … the quote below is from a Swami I know who lives further up the NSW coast. It is leading to an invitation to join him and others in a celebration to give thanks to all your teachers; a very nice tradition to be able to be part of!
    “Help! There’s a gap in my source of knowledge! Yoga talks about 2 types of knowledge. Ordinary knowledge is the stuff we get from books people classes parents etc. and then there is the ‘other Knowledge’ which stands by itself, nobody can tell ‘other Knowledge’ to you, it is just there or, as in most cases, it isn’t. This ‘other Knowledge’ is called intuitive knowledge or spiritual knowledge. When we read about spiritual Knowledge we don’t know the experience of it we just know what somebody has written. Spiritual life is the experience of spiritual Knowledge.”

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  3. Ah Bill, by now you all know how “crowded” my Camino was. Walking solo, some days you choose your companions, but mostly the Camino chooses for you. Everyone I met, was an integral part of my journey. Some you met in my camino group, and I would like to share one such pilgrim with you all.

    There is Tristan, from Australia, 30 something, who had sold all his possessions to take a “walk-about”. We met on the train to SJPDP, however, I did not realize that until I looked at all my pictures.

    He popped into my walk in Puenta La Reina. The night at Puenta had been difficult for me, I had gotten little sleep and wanted to put distance between myself and other pilgrims I had walked with until now. Puenta was my first watershed and a story by itself. The following morning, it was hot, the terrain is not difficult, but it was for me. I walked slowly, asking for the first, but only time “why in the heck am I doing this”. I recall many pilgrims passing me and a few walking with me for a short while. Tristan was one of them. As we walked, our conversation weaved through the typical stories of pilgrims. He told me his why and I told him why I had felt a need to ditch my camino family. He had done the same and was unsure, but he said that before he left home, a friend had send him a text message and he showed it to me. It said ” Rejoice in the choices of others, even if that takes them away from you.”

    Tristan and I would last see each other one crisp morning on the way to Sahagun.

    Fast forward to El Ganso and the walk into Rabanal del Camino. I was walking injured by then, and there is a very short section, steep and stony, and I choose to walk it rather then continuing on the asphalt road. Now I no longer looked around so much, put paid attention to the stones, each step carefully placed to avoid additional damage. And there it was, on a piece of slate I read “Rejoice in the choices of others, even if that takes them away from you.” Tristan had walked here and left the message and I felt that this came at the right time, at the right place and I felt his spirit. It helped me move forward, smiling and thankful to have met him, all those days ago.

    Tristan and I reconnected last year via facebook through another pilgrim friend I had helped prior to Moratinos, such is the magic of the Camino. I then asked him why he had written that message. He explained that he had said goodbye to a very special Camino friend and he finally was able to rejoice and accept.

    It is with great fondness that I remember Tristan.

    Ingrid

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    • Thank you thank you, Ingrid….Every day I come here to read, and every day one of you touches my soul in the most perfect way. Please know that the text message: “Rejoice in the choices of others, even if that takes them away from you,” is still creating ripples in the Universe. After spending nearly two weeks with my daughter and and our one year old twin granddaughters, we learned that our son-in-law (ortho surgeon) has joined a practice about 12 hours away from us. That text message is going to become my meditation for awhile until I can internalize it. ~Julie B. πŸ™‚

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      • Dear Julie,

        I agree. Each day there’s a comment / post that is truly touching, or inspiring.

        By the way, thanks for joining the forum. I’m calling it the forum where you can discuss the “spirit” of the Camino.

        This will distinguish it from other Camino forums, which discuss the practicalities of the Camino – albergues, equipment, stages etc.

        The forum will deal with the metaphysical, spiritual, religious and emotional aspects of the Camino.

        http://www.pgsthewayforum.com

        Bill

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  4. I haven’t walked the Camino yet but I think this is true in our everyday lives as well. The teacher, angel, person or lesson comes when we are most in need of them/it. If we takes he time to stop, breath, and listen.
    Maybe on the Camino the minutiae of our daily lives is left at home and we are more receptive or even actively looking for the answers or accepting of the ideas or lessons we encounter.
    Have you ever met someone at just the right time to give you the information you needed to change your life and then never saw that person again?

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    • Dear Karen,

      that person you describe, the person that comes along and says or does something that you need, just at the exact moment you need it, is of course an angel.

      My belief is that your PGS brings you to that person, to give you the guidance you need.

      You’re absolutely right too about the Camino, that through the reductive process of the walk, you become more attuned to these possibilities and encounters.

      Bill

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  5. Bill, interesting topic as my entry on my own blog two days back was about the people that Jill and I met on the first half of the Camino. Either today or tomorrow I will post another on my blog showing the people that I met or walked with along the second part of my Camino while I was walking alone. Steve

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  7. I was lucky. I did not meet any rude or arrogant people along the way. They were all happy and delightful and friendly. I was either lucky or I put off good carma πŸ™‚

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